The Lights Series/Illyria Penhallow
Early Life Born on the 4th of April 2017 to Patrick and Esme Penhallow; named Illyria Elinora Penhallow. Illyria grew up in Idris, in a family that was the subject of some speculation and stigma, owing to the forty-odd years between her father and mother. Illyria had two older siblings at the time of her birth - a half-sister, Aline, who was twenty-seven, and a brother, Topher, who was three. Illyria and Topher had a close, protective relationship and considered themselves good friends. When Illyria was two, hardly old enough to remember, her parents divorced, another family scandal, and Patrick started pursuing an even younger woman to be his third wife. Illyria and Topher remained with their mother, and both grew very close to her as a result of this. Sadly, when Illyria was four, her mother fell ill with cancer. Despite the best care of the Silent Brothers, she succumbed to the disease two years later, and passed away. Naturally, it was assumed that Topher and Illyria would be given into the care of their father, who was living with his third wife, Melanie, at the time. However by this stage Patrick was past seventy, and his new wife had just given birth to their first child together, a daughter, Nadine. It was decided that, what with the elderly nature of their father and the new baby, Topher and Illyria would just be too much extra trouble, and so they were turned away. Semi-orphaned and largely untrained, they were sent to the best place for children like them - the New York Institute. When Topher and Illyria arrived at the Institute, there were already eight other children living there. Jon and Merry Fray were both nine and their younger sister Nina was five. Nas Lightwood was six. Then there were the Blackthorn siblings, ten-year-old Lucy, eight-year-old Cas and five-year-old Rye. The last was eight-year-old Jamie Midwinter. When Illyria was nine, she gained two more half-siblings - younger twin brothers, Jacob and Joseph. In the same year, a new arrival came to the New York Institute - ten-year-old Layla Nightshade. Shortly after Illyria's fifteenth birthday, Karen Lewis, a werewolf, started recieving threatening letters, and in a bid to protect her family, moved into the Institute to live with the rest of them. Description Illyria shares many of her looks with her brother. She has very dark brown hair and hazel-brown eyes. She is often complimented on her smile. She has pale skin which tans easily and a band of freckles dotted across her nose and upper cheeks. Illyria has always been very skinny, which makes her seem small and fragile. Personality Although she is very quiet, Illyria is not shy. She learnt at a young age that you see more when no one sees you, and so she shrinks into the background of many conversations and picks up far more information that way. People are always willing to talk with her nearby if they forget she is there, and so she is often privy to knowledge that the older kids of the Institute aren't. Illyria is extremely intelligent, with an IQ far above average, although she hates other people knowing, feeling as though it makes her stand out. She dotes on her older brother, and misses her mother, although she feels especially bad that she has very few memories of Esme when she was healthy. She despises her father and his new wife and refuses to meet any of her half-siblings, feeling that they are a betrayal of her mother.